S14 Suspension setup Q&A
S14 Suspension setup Q&A
I'm looking for the best possilble suspension set up for the S14? A friend of mine convinced me to do coilovers, so thats already on thelist. Although I'm having a hard time deciding if I want to go with Tein HE, or Tein Flex. I know there are other setups just curious really to know what some of you other S14 guys were using.
-
PureSXyness
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2004 12:59 pm
-
Ligouri Rd
- Posts: 449
- Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2002 9:02 am
- Car: '96 Nissan 240SX
Quote »i think H&R Springs + Koni Shocks are pretty sick[/quote]Having just run some kick arse times in autox the past weekend. I tend to agree...but I have Koni's only on the front, AGX's in the rear. The rear Koni's are only adjustable when they are dissasembled from the springs. The fronts work well but are a pain in the arse to install...you have to cut up your old struts. My recommendation: H&R springs and Kyb AGX all around...of couse if I had it to do over again i would get Tein type Flex
-
S14owner96
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2004 5:18 am
- Car: Keeping my car looking stock
i just bought a complete JIC Magic suspension set up. The parts look BEAUTIFUL, it makes me want to cry. Although all the directions are in Japanese. Although I hear the parts are direct bolt-ins, I'll let you know once they are in. I've had to wait three weeks to get them in, this weekend is finally here!
well I am serious about driving. However when I'm not on the track I don't need the car to ride stiff. I've looked at the Flex suspension cause of its flexability (no pun intended). The EDFC I'd prebally get as well. Do you think the flex will hold up to (track, drift, daily driving, and just about anything else?)
The flex is designed to be superb all around. This includes track, drift, daily driving, and just about anything else you can throw at it. However, because it strives to be good at everything, there are drawbacks. First and foremost is the pricing. Tein built these coilovers to be the best (in its price range, of course) on the street. That's the key word. Street. This does not mean that they suck on the track. On the contrary, they are a very formitable contender even on the track. The problem is that, because they are definately designed for street use as its primary objective, you MAY notice that they are a little soft for track use. This softness, however, should only be evident if you are using R compund tires, or racing slicks. For street tires, I seriously think that the flex coilovers are going to be your constraint on the track.
When beginning to modify your suspension, first figure out what kind of tires you are planning on running. Then move up the suspension chain from there. There is absolutely NO reason for you to have rock hard coilovers when all you intend to run are street tires. Good luck on your build-up
KennyUnderground Motorsports
When beginning to modify your suspension, first figure out what kind of tires you are planning on running. Then move up the suspension chain from there. There is absolutely NO reason for you to have rock hard coilovers when all you intend to run are street tires. Good luck on your build-up
KennyUnderground Motorsports
-
IveBeenBad
- Posts: 1138
- Joined: Sun Jan 12, 2003 11:53 am
- Car: 1990 Nissan 240SX Fastback STOCK BIOTCH
-
1995 240sx
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2003 1:04 pm
-
Ligouri Rd
- Posts: 449
- Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2002 9:02 am
- Car: '96 Nissan 240SX
Just the rear need to be dissasembled from the springs to adjust them. You have to fully compress the rear struts then rotate them to adjust the dampening. The fronts are externally adjustable, I have no complaints about those.1995 240sx wrote:was looking at getting Koni all around but u r saying that i need to take them out of the car to adjust them is that right?
Hey, S14 King, I wasn't sure whether or not you were serious about the whole track thing. If you're going to be running Hoosiers, then you might want to look into something a little stiffer than the Flex. Again, this is just personal opinion, and the body roll that you may experience could be alleviated by a set of anti-roll bars. Equipping anti-roll bars do have an ill side effect for a street car by tying independent suspension together, and not letting it act independently. This is a problem on the street when one tire hits a pot hole, which is why not many drifters in Japan use anti-roll bars. It's not as big of a deal on the track, though, due to the smooth surface. If you get an adjustable set, you'll be able to adjust it accordingly on and off the track for different tires.
Kenny, Underground Motorsports
Kenny, Underground Motorsports
actually now i'm thinking about an S13 hatchback with the S15 front after i saw this one....
here is the main page...http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/538612
I'm trying to figure out what the front bumper is that he has. Anyone know?
here is the main page...http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/538612
I'm trying to figure out what the front bumper is that he has. Anyone know?
-
Skull-leader
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 1:37 pm
- Car: My gf Natalie, my car, jetski freestyle, water.
I have konies and groundcontrol coilovers all around on my car. I also have suspension techniques sway bars, pdm strut tower bar and battle vision adj links.
The fully adj coilovers like the flex system is cool, but in somepeoples eyes, not needed. Like me, I prefer my car slamed to the ground. So my setup is on full stiff all the time , otherwise, i would bottem my car out. Most people i know "even with the Tein HE setup" run full stiff all the time. So unless you find yourself needing the extra softening, it isnt really needed.
Make sure to get the battle vision front adj. tension arms, and rear upper adj links, these are crucial when slamming your car and getting camber correct. The suspension techniques swap bars are awsome and provide night and day cornering, and for 250 for the front and rear, you cant go wrong.
Id say the Teins are a great choice, but they may be more than is needed. The konies are really cool too, but the rears DO need to be removed, This takes me ~ 4 min per side if I have an impact wrench, its 1 bolt on the bottem and 2 up top, really isnt that hard. Like I said, I ususally adjust mine , well....... Ive adjusted them 1 time since i got them. 1st time putting them on, then another time 3-4 weeks later to tighten them up more after they had broken in.
I dont know about everyone, but i know 2 ppl that had KYB agx's in the rear, they had them on full soft for some reason???? and both blew their rear struts, sucks for them...
PS i have a fully built s14-5 silvia for 15k if your serioulsy interedted in s15 conversions, 14 k in the engine bay alone, additional 7k spent everywhere else on the car I originally spent 6k on. There is a thred on it in the cars for sale forum.
The fully adj coilovers like the flex system is cool, but in somepeoples eyes, not needed. Like me, I prefer my car slamed to the ground. So my setup is on full stiff all the time , otherwise, i would bottem my car out. Most people i know "even with the Tein HE setup" run full stiff all the time. So unless you find yourself needing the extra softening, it isnt really needed.
Make sure to get the battle vision front adj. tension arms, and rear upper adj links, these are crucial when slamming your car and getting camber correct. The suspension techniques swap bars are awsome and provide night and day cornering, and for 250 for the front and rear, you cant go wrong.
Id say the Teins are a great choice, but they may be more than is needed. The konies are really cool too, but the rears DO need to be removed, This takes me ~ 4 min per side if I have an impact wrench, its 1 bolt on the bottem and 2 up top, really isnt that hard. Like I said, I ususally adjust mine , well....... Ive adjusted them 1 time since i got them. 1st time putting them on, then another time 3-4 weeks later to tighten them up more after they had broken in.
I dont know about everyone, but i know 2 ppl that had KYB agx's in the rear, they had them on full soft for some reason???? and both blew their rear struts, sucks for them...
PS i have a fully built s14-5 silvia for 15k if your serioulsy interedted in s15 conversions, 14 k in the engine bay alone, additional 7k spent everywhere else on the car I originally spent 6k on. There is a thred on it in the cars for sale forum.
The thing with tein, or other high-end coilover manufacturers, is unlike ground control "coilovers" is that, not only is the ride height adjustable, but you can lower the car without decreasing the stoke. With the high-end coilovers, you can adjust the ride height and spring preload independently.
Another thing is that, if you think that the Flex coilovers will be too soft to your liking, you can opt for stiffer springs. While this is an option with ground control, your shocks (whether tokico, KYB etc) might not be able to keep up with the increase in load that the springs dish out (=blown shock).
Another thing is that, if you think that the Flex coilovers will be too soft to your liking, you can opt for stiffer springs. While this is an option with ground control, your shocks (whether tokico, KYB etc) might not be able to keep up with the increase in load that the springs dish out (=blown shock).
-
Skull-leader
- Posts: 12
- Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2004 1:37 pm
- Car: My gf Natalie, my car, jetski freestyle, water.
I have konies and have no quams. If anything goes wrong with them, I can purchase them seperatly. I would like to see how the stroke isn't decreased with the lowering of the vehicle. I know that the tunabe sustec suspension system uses smaller-shorter shock bodies so the stroke is shorter in and of itself, but i cannot envision the tein and hks hyper damper setups being the same. I enjoy the konie setup. For a while i wanted the other setups but once i realized that I didnt need anymore adjustment or that i could possibly set my car any other way, i wasnt upset.
With the exception of having extream negative camber in the front, there really isnt anything wrong with the gcc and konie package. HKS makes seperate pillow mounts for the front that can be purchased seperatly, I however havn't bought them yet.
Basically what im saying is that yes while you can go and spend 2000+ on an hks hyper damper setup or somthing, when if your just going to drop it on the ground, and turn it up to full stiff, then whats the point???? I'd say just spend the rest on the adjustable links, which a lot of people see as unessesary until they realize how bad the camber problem is in the rear. with the s14 it has an almost perfect front/rear weight distribution with an sr20det, and even better if you lighten up the front a little by removing a lot of the unneeded stuff, and lightening it up a little with fiberglass and carbonfiber. I believe the gc coilovers come with equal weight springs for the front and rear.
I guess i get what your saying, that you can make the springs however stiff you want and not have the stiffness depend on the damper. I like the "coilover setup" and woulndt be upset with either setup.
the guy cant really go wrong, just rember if you go with a setup other than tein or hks, koni and gcc is a good choice, at autox it's almost all you see.
With the exception of having extream negative camber in the front, there really isnt anything wrong with the gcc and konie package. HKS makes seperate pillow mounts for the front that can be purchased seperatly, I however havn't bought them yet.
Basically what im saying is that yes while you can go and spend 2000+ on an hks hyper damper setup or somthing, when if your just going to drop it on the ground, and turn it up to full stiff, then whats the point???? I'd say just spend the rest on the adjustable links, which a lot of people see as unessesary until they realize how bad the camber problem is in the rear. with the s14 it has an almost perfect front/rear weight distribution with an sr20det, and even better if you lighten up the front a little by removing a lot of the unneeded stuff, and lightening it up a little with fiberglass and carbonfiber. I believe the gc coilovers come with equal weight springs for the front and rear.
I guess i get what your saying, that you can make the springs however stiff you want and not have the stiffness depend on the damper. I like the "coilover setup" and woulndt be upset with either setup.
the guy cant really go wrong, just rember if you go with a setup other than tein or hks, koni and gcc is a good choice, at autox it's almost all you see.